Bangkok: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is confident that all parliamentary election ballots have arrived in Thailand and will be ready for counting on February 8.
According to Thai News Agency, the Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs guarantees that all parliamentary election ballots will arrive back in Thailand in time for the simultaneous counting on February 8. Referendum ballots will be counted after February 8, with a live broadcast planned to ensure transparency.
Mr. Mangkon Pratumkaew, Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs, revealed progress in managing elections and referendums outside the Kingdom. Ballots from registered voters in overseas elections, collected by consulates general and Thai economic and trade offices, will be sorted by constituency and sent back to Thailand. February 5th is the final day for diplomatic mail to arrive in Thailand for sorting and delivery. The votes are scheduled to be counted simultaneously in Thailand on February 8th, 2026, at 5:00 PM. Some diplomatic mail packages have already arrived.
Regarding referendum ballots, the Director-General clarified that Thai embassies would store them securely, with counting beginning within 48 hours of February 8, 2025. Thai embassies have invited overseas citizens to observe the process, with some embassies live-streaming the counting via Facebook for transparency.
The Director-General also addressed overseas election obstacles, confirming that document errors have been corrected and ballot delivery delays managed with extended deadlines at embassies.
The assurance extends to the timely return of parliamentary election ballots to Thailand by February 5th, facilitated by the Oversea Voting Monitoring System (OVMS). This system tracks delivery from registration to counting, ensuring Bangkok has a clear timeline. Officers are dispatched to collect diplomatic mail bags for sorting and distribution by February 6th. The Director-General affirmed that transit times would not delay the process, as diplomatic staff carry mail bags on board flights. Assistance has been provided to embassies with large numbers of registered voters, ensuring ballots return in time for counting.
For advance voting abroad, the Director-General confirmed that all registered voters have received ballots. However, some areas experienced delivery issues, such as incorrect addresses. Thai embassies will continue delivering ballots until February 1st and 2nd. In Paris, the Royal Thai Embassy addressed delays by extending ballot deadlines and allowing in-person deliveries. Embassies have also deployed teams to assist in sorting and returning ballots to Thailand, ensuring all ballots arrive on time.